Hard Drive Prices 2026: Why HDDs Got So Expensive and What Comes Next

How much have hard drive prices gone up?

The TB index for all hard drives on amazon.com is $35.00 per TB, +2.0% over 30 days and +0.6% over 90 days. Tom's Hardware reported in January 2026 that the 24 TB Seagate BarraCuda, once as low as $239 on sale, was listed at $499 on Amazon from a third-party seller.

The index is the median of the 10 cheapest new offers per day. The percentages only compare offers that had a price on both days, so new bait offers do not distort the trend.

Hard drive prices per TB on amazon.com, new offers, as of Oct 28, 2026 at 1:17 AM UTC

Our history starts on Jul 29, 2026, when the TB index for hard drives was $34.46 per TB. The big jump came before that. Tech media measured it with their own samples:

• German site ComputerBase tracked 12 popular hard drives and found an average increase of 46% in 4 months, from 09/15/2025 to 01/14/2026. Tom's Hardware checked similar models in the U.S. and found the trend similar or worse: a Seagate IronWolf 8 TB that cost about $130 a couple of years earlier was $199 (Tom's Hardware, 01/16/2026).
• According to PC Games Hardware, hard drives in Germany cost 129% more on average in mid August 2026 than before the storage crisis, slightly more than SSDs at 126% (08/16/2026).

The figures differ because every source measures different models and periods. The direction is the same in all of them.

How have hard drive prices developed since 2025?

After nearly 2 calm years, the increase started in September 2025: lead times for large data center drives grew to over 52 weeks, and Western Digital raised prices on all hard drives. In Q4 2025, contract prices rose more than in any of the previous 8 quarters.

The key milestones, each with a source. Nearline drives are large, always-on hard drives for data centers. Contract prices are prices in supply agreements with large customers.

ratioDB has recorded amazon.com prices daily since Jul 29, 2026. The chart at the top of Internal 3.5" HDD shows the history day by day.

Why have hard drives become so expensive?

Hard drives have become expensive because cloud providers store huge amounts of data for AI services and buy large hard drives in bulk to do it. Seagate and Western Digital have committed their capacity to these customers in long-term contracts, and the switch to new recording technology slows down production growth.

Cloud providers buy large hard drives in bulk

Artificial intelligence creates and consumes enormous amounts of data. Data centers keep rarely used data on large hard drives because they cost far less per TB than SSDs. According to TrendForce, the major manufacturers had barely expanded production in the years before, which is why lead times grew to over 52 weeks in 2025 (TrendForce, 09/15/2025). PC Games Hardware sums it up: hyperscalers (the largest cloud providers) bought the market empty.

Production is booked for years

Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said in January 2026: "Our nearline capacity is fully allocated through calendar year 2026." Seagate has long-term agreements with major cloud customers through 2027, and several customers are already discussing their demand for 2028 (Seagate, 01/27/2026). According to PC Games Hardware, Western Digital described 2026 as practically sold out. That leaves less for retail and consumers.

New technology slows the expansion

Seagate is switching to HAMR (heat-assisted magnetic recording) to fit more data on each platter. According to TrendForce, the new production lines require heavy upfront investment, which limits capacity growth. TrendForce reported the average price per GB rising from $0.012 to 0.013 to $0.015 to 0.016 (TrendForce, 10/14/2025).

Manufacturer revenue is surging

The numbers of the two largest manufacturers show how strong demand is. Seagate reported revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter ending in early July 2026 and $12.2 billion for the fiscal year (Seagate, 07/29/2026). Western Digital reported $3.75 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, up 44% from a year earlier (Western Digital, 08/05/2026).

Which hard drive size is cheapest per TB?

The cheapest per TB on amazon.com right now is Seagate BarraCuda 8 TB at $33.00 per TB. Mid-size drives are often cheaper per TB than very small or very large ones. The table shows the cheapest new internal 3.5" hard drive per size.

Cheapest new internal 3.5" hard drive per capacity on amazon.com, as of Oct 28, 2026 at 1:17 AM UTC

Small 4 TB drives usually cost more per TB because every drive needs a case, motor and electronics regardless of size. The shortage is worst for very large drives: according to TrendForce, lead times for high-capacity models stretched to nearly 1 year in 2025 (TrendForce News, 09/15/2025). Larger sizes are often NAS and enterprise drives, see Best NAS hard drive.

Are external hard drives cheaper than internal ones?

Right now, no: external 3.5" hard drives cost $42.62 per TB on amazon.com according to the TB index, internal ones $36.25 per TB. Prices for external drives swing a lot, so always compare the current TB index.

External 3.5" hard drives need their own power adapter and suit desktop backups. External 2.5" hard drives run on USB power and fit in a pocket. Some users take the drive out of an external enclosure and use it internally. Check the manufacturer's warranty terms first. Which external drive pays off is covered in Best external hard drive. All models are listed under External 3.5" HDD and External 2.5" HDD.

When will hard drives get cheaper again?

The manufacturers and analysts in this article do not expect quick relief. Seagate has allocated its nearline capacity for 2026 and has contracts through 2027, and according to PC Games Hardware, Bernstein and Gartner name 2028 as the earliest year for real price cuts in storage. All of these are forecasts and can change.

What the key voices say, each as a forecast:

• Seagate: Asked about pricing in new contracts for 2027 and 2028, Dave Mosley said "flat to slightly up is certainly possible" (Seagate, 01/27/2026).
• Western Digital: CEO Irving Tan enters fiscal 2027 with "continued confidence in the durability of demand" (Western Digital, 08/05/2026).
• Bernstein and Gartner: according to PC Games Hardware, no real price cut for storage before 2028 at the earliest (PC Games Hardware, 08/16/2026).

There are short-term swings: the TB index for all hard drives changed by +0.4% over the last 7 days. The daily history is the most reliable way to see when buying pays off.

Are hard drives still cheaper per TB than SSDs?

Yes, by far. On amazon.com an SSD costs $118.71 per TB according to the TB index, a hard drive $35.00 per TB. Per TB, an SSD costs 3.4 times as much as a hard drive (as of Oct 28, 2026 at 1:17 AM UTC).

PC Games Hardware puts German prices in August 2026 at €33 to 52 per TB for hard drives and €111 to 180 per TB for SSDs, so hard drives cost about a third. For photos, videos and backups the hard drive remains the cheap choice, for the operating system and games the SSD. The full comparison is in SSD vs HDD. Where SSD prices are heading is covered in SSD prices.

Should I buy a hard drive now or wait?

If you need a hard drive now, buy now and watch for the 90-day low. Waiting for prices to drop sharply is a bet against the manufacturers, who have committed their capacity through 2027.

How to go about it:

1. Check your needs: Work out how much storage you need over the next 2 to 3 years. One larger drive is often cheaper per TB than 2 small ones.
2. Compare price per TB: The table above shows the cheapest size. ratioDB sorts every offer by it.
3. Watch for the 90-day low: The TB index for all hard drives was lowest at $32.22 per TB over the last 90 days. Offers with the "90-day low" badge cost as little as they have in 90 days.
4. Check the recording method: For NAS and heavy writing, CMR is the better choice. The difference is explained in CMR vs SMR.
5. Save instead of guessing: Put candidates on your watchlist. On your next visit, ratioDB shows how the price has changed since you saved it.

Is a used or refurbished hard drive worth it?

A refurbished hard drive can pay off at today's prices if it costs clearly less per TB than the index for new drives and comes with a warranty. ratioDB labels used and refurbished offers with their condition and never includes them in the TB index.

ComputerBase also tracked a recertified Seagate Exos 28 TB in its January 2026 sample, and its price rose by about 45% as well (Club386 citing ComputerBase data, 01/16/2026). Refurbished drives are no automatic bargain either. Always compare with the price per TB of new models. What to watch for is covered in Refurbished hard drives.

What is a good price per TB for a hard drive?

A good price is at or below the TB index for that type of drive. For internal 3.5" hard drives on amazon.com that is $36.25 per TB right now, for all hard drives combined $35.00 per TB.

The TB index is an honest benchmark because it is built from the 10 cheapest new offers. If an offer is clearly above it, there are almost always cheaper alternatives with the same capacity.

Have SSDs and RAM also become more expensive?

Yes, every type of storage is affected. According to PC Games Hardware, SSDs in Germany cost 126% more on average in August 2026 than before the crisis, and memory is hit hard as well.

The reasons for SSDs and memory are similar: data centers buy huge amounts of storage, and manufacturers supply them first. More in the guides SSD prices and Why are RAM prices so high. Current prices per group are on SSD prices per TB and Memory prices per GB.

How does ratioDB measure hard drive prices?

ratioDB checks the amazon.com prices of every listed hard drive offer regularly and converts them to price per TB, with 1 TB equal to 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. The TB index is the median of the 10 cheapest new offers, and changes only compare offers with a price on both days.

Every offer is listed with condition (new, renewed, used), price, capacity and timestamp. Multipacks are divided by their total capacity. Shipping is not included. All rules are on the Methodology page. The full list of hard drives is under Hard drive prices per TB.